


Fish Out Of Water

by Starkvenger



Series: Tony Gets Turned Into Shit [1]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Amnesia, Avengers Family, Clint Is a Good Bro, Crack Treated Seriously, F/M, I'm Bad At Tagging, Innocent Tony, M/M, Merperson Tony Stark, Natasha Romanov Is Not A Robot, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Protective Steve, Protective Steve Rogers, Science Bros, Temporary Amnesia, Tony Feels, Tony Stark Feels, Tony-centric, merman!Tony
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-17
Updated: 2018-07-28
Packaged: 2018-11-15 02:19:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 13,391
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11221236
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Starkvenger/pseuds/Starkvenger
Summary: After absorbing the blast from one of Attuma’s weapons, Tony finds himself not only unable to breathe in the suffocatingly dry air around him but surrounded by confused humans that he didn’t recognize as well.





	1. Miscalculations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Look, I know I have way too many stories on my hands to be posting another...  
> but I've had this idea in my head for the past week, (not to mention reading everything I can find with Tony as a merman in it) and I desperately needed to write my own tale. 
> 
> So....sorry? but enjoy I guess.

☆ - ⎈ - ☆ 

 

So far the battle had been going well- almost, dare he say it, _swimmingly_. Tony snorted at his own mental joke, dodging a glob of black sludge that was chucked his way before blasting one of the many ooze monsters Attuma had unleashed upon them.

"Something funny, Iron Man?" Steve asked through the comms, his voice letting the group know he meant business. He was in work mode, which meant he was no fun. Tony sighed and shook his head, blasting another pair of evil slimes. 

"No sir, Captain sir!" he poked, a grin on his face as he swooped out of the way of a glob of goo. He was delighted to hear the blonde's resigned sigh in response and knew the man must be smiling if he wasn't saying anything in return.

That was how their relationship worked, he would poke fun, tease the man out of time, and in return would get playful responses, rare sarcasm, and sometimes words that seemed as if they had a deeper meaning to them.

"Hate to break up the sexual tension between you two, but I think ol' fish head is trying to start something." Clint interrupted, watching as Attuma raised a turquoise-colored spear with a bright red gemstone embedded in its tip into the air. 

Tony paused his witty comeback to look around, locking onto just what Birdbrain had been talking about. The maniac seemed to be shouting something to the heavens, but just what it was was inaudible. 

The brunet furrowed his brow and flew closer to the Atlantian, firing at masses of slime as he went. He was able to make out the tail end of Attuma's words, catching something that sounded like "Goddess of the Seas", which put him on edge. 

What sent him hurdling over was the fact that after his yelling bout, the staff in his webbed hands began to glow. Tony's eyes widened, running calculations in seconds as he dive-bombed towards the scaled man. 

He had no clue just what that thing could do, and did his best to ignore Steve's yelling in his ear about needing a plan, thinking things through- If Tony was right, then whatever came out of that staff would come too fast for a plan.

Tony sped closer to the Atlantian, his eyes locked on the staff. He slammed into both it and its wielder, curling around the rock on the end and shutting his eyes as he felt a wave of energy course through him. 

He clenched his teeth, white hot pain shooting across his body and down his spine, making him stumble backward. He dropped the staff like it was on fire, tripping over the side of the building and hurdling towards the ground in a freefall.

His systems weren't responding, the comm had shut off with a burst of static, everything was dark, and to make things even worse- his mind was growing hazy. His vision began to black out around the edges, and the last thing he felt before blacking out was something big and green pluck him out of the air. 

 

☆ - ⎈ - ☆ 

 

Steve yelled for Tony to stand down, to wait and come up with a better plan, but his orders fell on deaf ears. Tony continued his trajectory and slammed into both Attuma and the glowing stick he held, just as said stick seemed ready to burst.

He had to cover his eyes from the bright light that exploded from the rooftop then, looking up as soon as he was able to and seeing Tony fall out of the air, his suit motionless. Steve's heart thumped loudly in his chest, fear gripping him tight as he ordered Hulk to catch their genius. 

He ran as fast as his legs could carry him over to where Hulk had set him down, only to find that Tony's suit was not only in shambles but that his lower half resembled that of a very, _very_ _large fish._

In fact, as Steve looked closer, he saw that Tony had bright red, a red that mimicked the man's gaudy armor, yet was flecked with gold and made it sparkle in the sun scales that blended into his skin, sprouting from the base of the tail and entangling around his sides and to his back.

Without the armor to cover him, he also saw that the brunet had slits on his sides, lining up with his ribs and that the bright red scales sprouted again at his shoulders, climbing up his neck, where more slits could be found on either side and down his arms. Large, golden-webbed fins protruded from Tony's forearms, and his fingers came to end in wickedly sharp deep red claws that seemed to have more webbing between them.

He looked at the man's face- which remained overall unchanged and noticed that a few small scales peppered his cheeks and that his ears were no more, that instead, large red fins with golden webbing framed his face and took their place. If he had one word to describe the sight before him, it was beautiful. 

The soldier swallowed, awe-stricken at the sight of his friend lying prone on the hot asphalt. He shook his head as the others gathered around, gaining his composure enough to scoop his friend-turned-mermaid? _Merman,_ into his arms and look up at his teammates. 

"We have to get him back to the tower," he said, trying to feign that he still had any shred of composure left. "I don't know if anything has changed inside, but if those slits on his sides are anything to go by, I think what Tony needs most right now is water," he said, carrying the Iron Avenger into the Quinjet before reporters could flood the scene. 

The panel slid shut behind him, concealing him and the other Avengers as the jet took off.

 

☆ - ⎈ - ☆ 

 

The ride back home was quiet, as everyone had been stunned to silence. Tony barely moved, only to shift in position and the first time which Steve mistook for him coming to, only to be disappointed when the merman was still once more.

It wasn't until they had reached Avengers Tower, (previously Stark Tower), and they all had moved down to the pool did anyone dare to speak.

And of course, the first one was Clint.

"Ok, I can't be the only one here who thinks this is BATSHIT INSANE, right!?" he blurted out, throwing his hands up as Steve set Tony on the water's surface. He knew of the man's previous aversion to water, and he hoped the brunet would forgive him when he woke up. 

The blonde glanced back at the archer, letting out a tired sigh and rubbing his eyes with the palm of his hands. "I...I don't know. Honestly, my mind is still trying to get used to this situation." he said, taking a seat beside the pool as he watched Tony's body sink into the water. A moment of panic welled inside him before remembering that the man had gills now, that he was more than capable of breathing down there, but the fear still stuck.

Clint took a seat beside the soldier, peering into the watery depths of the pool and tilting his head. "Does this mean we need a new Iron Man? And if so, can I call dibs?' he asked, a playful smirk on his lips. 

Steve could tell the man was coping with the situation the same way Tony did- through humor and sarcasm. He gave Clint a ghost of a smile, before looking back down into the pool.

Natasha took a seat beside the pair, an exhausted Bruce beside her. Thor was the only one left standing, peering into the water with a calculating look on his face. He rubbed his chin, tilting his head as he saw the figure begin to move. 

"My comrades, I believe friend Stark is beginning to wake." he said, gesturing with Mjolnir to the pool.

Steve felt his heart flutter, noticing that Tony was, in fact, beginning to move. "Thank god..." he muttered under his breath, Natasha giving him a look of pity. 

The group watched as Tony seemed to wake up, his tail stretching under the water and fingers flexing as he came to. Steve prayed to any and all gods above that he wouldn't freak out and have an episode because he'd never be able to forgive himself for putting his best friend in that situation. 

Tony looked around, his tail swishing calmly through the water. Overall he seemed calm, which nearly threw Steve through a loop. Maybe he had gotten better with water? He called out to him, but when the brunet gave him no signs that he heard him, he stuck his hand in the water and waved it around. 

It was then that the genius billionaire turned merman looked up, cocking his head under the water. He swam up with a mighty flick of his tail, seeming completely at home in the water. Tony paused just beneath the surface and seemed to take them all in before slowly poking his head above the water.

"Tony..." Steve breathed, a smile on his face. The merman tilted his head, eyes questioning before he let out a few chirps, similar to that of a dolphin's. 

The smile faded from his face and his heart sank. "Tony?" he asked, slowly reaching his hand out to the brunet. Tony swam a little closer, smelling his hand before deeming it ok to push his head against, much like a cat would. 

Steve drew back like the man was on fire. Tony would never do that- he had too much pride. He would never be that at home in the water, he would show some semblance of knowing who they are-

Tears welled in his eyes at the thought. 

Tony was gone.

 

☆ - ⎈ - ☆ 

 

 Tony woke up to find his surroundings were cool and calm. It was small, but that was to be expected in a cove. The mer looked around, finding intricate designs carved into the strange cove's walls. Come to think of it, Tony couldn't tell where the water let into this strange cove. 

He suddenly felt vibrations echo through the water from above, thinking it may be a quick and easy meal. He looked up, only to find strange creatures above the water. He swam closer to the surface, careful to stay under the water and stared at them.

They appeared to be humans, though some of them smelled of something more. The humans were sitting at the edge of the cove, just watching him, which confused the mer. Finally, he poked his head above the water, the fins on his head fanning out to show that he was an alpha male, that he wouldn't go down without a fight. 

One of the humans made a strange noise, sounding much like a pup did when they first learned to sing. The human was large and had bright blonde hair on hi head. Tony tilted his head in confusion. He hadn't known humans to try to sing, and when the human reached out his un-webbed hand it only confused him further. 

Perhaps he was testing to see if Tony was dangerous? Humans tended to do that, befriend things they really shouldn't, but Tony knew better than to trust humans. He _was_ dangerous to someone who wanted to harm him, but this human just seemed curious.

So, he butted his head against the human's strange hand. Suddenly, the human pulled back, and sadness seemed to radiate off him. Tony ducked into the water, just below the surface, as all of his fins fanned out, sharp barbs sliding out of his forearms, ready for an attack. 

When none came, he poked his head out once more, though only to enough to see, and tilted his head in confusion as another human attempted to sing at him.

This one was smaller, with hair not as golden as the first, but more of a sand color. He smelled confused, and slightly panicked, but was also trying to cover it up. Tony gave him a couple of clicks, trying to tell him to stop singing cause he was NOT GOOD, but that only seemed to make him sing more. 

Tony's fins splayed back against his head, and he began to sink into the water and away from the human's terrible singing when another voice silenced him. This one was female, with hair as bright red as a lobster. Tony came back up to look at her, chirping at the female in thanks. 

Her voice was calm, yet held an edge to it, as did her scent. She attempted to sing to him, and while it wasn't the best he'd ever heard, it was far from terrible. He chirped happily for her, clicking and flexing the fins on his face.

He too began to sing, his voice mixing with hers, even after she stopped. After a moment he stopped too, tilting his head in question. Had she not enjoyed his singing? He was trying to harmonize with her, had she not found him pleasing?

His fins wilted and he sunk back into the water, swimming to the bottom and laying down on the strange white stone that made up the floor of the cove. He ignored the insistent splashing that came from above, not wanting to deal with the humans' singing and confusing gestures.

He closed his eyes and curled in on himself, settling into sleep.

 

☆ - ⎈ - ☆ 

 

Steve was left in a daze as he watched Tony interact with Clint and Natasha. 

Clint tried talking to him like normal, getting low to the surface of the water and mimicking Tony's head tilt. "Tones, come on man we know you're in there!" he said, a nervous smile on his face.

"Come on, fish face! You're hurting Cap's feelings-" he was cut off by a series of clicks from Tony, which the archer mistakenly took for Tony knowing what he was saying. "That better not be sarcasm Stark! Cause I will jump in there after you, and we can enjoy some billionaire sushi." Clint joked.

The Archer paused when he saw Tony begin to sink back into the water, and was about to start back up when a flick from Natasha kept him quiet. "Shut up. You're scaring him." she said, turning her attention to the merman. Her voice was gentle and calm and made Tony come back out from the water. "Hey, Tony. It's alright. I won't let Clint touch you. It's ok." she said, trying to coax him out further. 

"Do you think he even understands me?" she asked, looking at Steve. The blonde shook his head with a shrug in reply. He wasn't sure, but he knew that Tony wasn't himself right now. The merman in question was chirping in reply, but it didn't seem like he understood what she was saying. 

Natasha went back to talking softly to him when all of a sudden Tony began to sing. Not in a literal sense, as there were no words, but a strange sound, almost like wind chimes mixed with a tittering harp, came from his mouth. 

Natasha shut her mouth, taking in the sound in awe. 

Steve too, staring at the merman and swallowing thickly. It wasn't until Tony cut himself off that Steve snapped back to reality. He seemed upset, tilting his head with big questioning eyes before turning and quickly diving under the water. 

The blonde felt his chest tighten, watching as the brunet swam to the bottom and stayed there. He stuck his hand in the water and swirled it around, trying to coax Tony back to the top, but it didn't work. 

The merman simply ignored him, choosing to curl up at the bottom of the pool and stay there. 

Steve pulled his hand out of the water slowly, flicking water off and wiping it on his shirt. They all stood, save for Steve, watching the water. 

"Well...what now?" Clint asked, scratching the back of his neck. They were confused and seeked his guidance, that much Steve could tell, and he wanted to ease their trepidation, but couldn't bring himself to leave the pool.

"Bruce, try to get in contact with Richards. See if he can do anything to fix this. Natasha, Clint, look around and see if you can find any traces of Attuma. Thor- can you look through some old legends and gather everything we may need to know about Mermaid- er, Mermen?" Steve glanced back at the pool, his chest tight.

"What about you, Steve?" Natasha asked, tilting her head in question.

"I..." he started, looking down into the water. "I can't leave him. Not yet." he said, which the team took for good enough, and left to accomplish their tasks.

Steve stayed sitting by the water, watching Tony at the bottom of the pool. He had a lot of things to think through, and the quiet in here was perfect. 

 

☆ - ⎈ - ☆ 

**TBC**


	2. Tricks

 

☆ - ⎈ - ☆ 

 

When Steve woke up the next morning, he found himself still beside the pool. His back was sore from the rough ground, but when he finally managed to rub the sleep from his eyes, he noticed that Tony was watching him from the water. 

The brunet had his head out of the water and was surprisingly close to the blonde. He clicked and tilted his head, a motion that Steve mimicked. The blonde blinked, swallowing thickly before sitting up. 

Tony didn't move, only chirped at him, and tilted his head the other way. He swam a bit closer, so close in fact that he was touching the side of the pool. His sharp, elongated red claws grabbed hold of the side of the pool, the gold webbing between them shining in the light.  

"Tony?" Steve asked, reaching his hand out slowly again like he had the day before. Instead of butting his head against it, this time the merman grasped it gently in his claws. He brought it up to his face, inspecting the hand and making Steve fan out his fingers. 

The brunet slid a claw between his fingers, assumedly checking for Steve's webbing. When he found none he let out a series of chirps and clicks, confusion written in his features. He then let go of the hand and looked up at Steve, who had a small smile on his face. Even as a merman, Tony's curiosity was insatiable. 

Tony's ear fins? (that's what he was going to call them) fanned in and out, all while Tony stared at Steve's own ears. He chuckled, getting down close to the water so that Tony could inspect his face. 

Tony grabbed hold of the blonde's head once he was at eye level, turning it in his hands so that he could get a better look at Steve's ears. The merman's ear fins splayed out, his brow furrowing when he noticed that Steve lacked such a thing. 

This close to his face, Steve saw that golden scales flecked his entire face, making his skin glitter in the light. His eyes were a bright blue- brighter than Steve had ever seen them- and seemed to mirror his own. 

Tony was still intelligent, that much he could tell, but he knew for a fact that he didn't recognize him or any of the other Avengers. He couldn't speak, nor understand them if yesterday was anything to go by, but his quirks and personality were still all there. 

Steve felt Tony run a clawed hand through his hair, the touch sending shivers down his spine. He swallowed, meeting Tony's gaze as his hand trailed over his ear and down his neck. Tony paused at Steve's chin, blue meeting blue as Tony brought him closer. 

They were so close by this point that Steve could feel tony's breath on his lips. He felt instinct take over, wanting nothing more than to kiss the brunet before him. It wasn't until he replayed that thought back in his mind that he jerked back.

Steve stumbled backward, yanking himself out of Tony's grip and away from his soft lips. He was left breathing heavily, his heart pounding at the thought of nearly taking advantage of Tony without the man even realizing it. 

He looked back at the merman in question, who's ear fins seemed to have wilted. He had his head tilted, but didn't seem very upset. Maybe he didn't realize the meaning behind that action? Steve shook his head, trying to catch his breath as Tony dove back under. 

 

☆ - ⎈ - ☆ 

 

Tony woke up the next day and stretched, flexing his appendages before swimming through the water. He swam around the edge of the small cove, looking for where the water came from. Confusion took over when he found no such entrance, only smooth walls all around.

He looked up, spotting something on the edge of the cove's surface, and swam up to inspect it. What he found was the blonde human from the day before, sleeping soundly on the ground. 

Tony chirped at him, attempting to coax the human awake, but to no avail. He tilted his head, inspecting the human's body as he slept. The human was laying parallel to the water, Tony was able to get close to his strange, small twin tails. 

They lacked any scales or webbing and didn't seem very efficient for swimming, but seeing as how the other humans were gone, they must have worked like a gull's, allowing them to maneuver on land and tuck into their bodies when they decided to float on water. 

The Mer was tempted to inspect the small fins further, but the human seemed to be waking up. Tony swam back up to his face, watching as the human opened his eyes and blinked. Tony clicked at him, telling him hello, but when the human didn't reply, confusion once more took hold. He tilted his head, to which the human mirrored. 

So maybe this creature _was_ intelligent after all. While he couldn't sing, the human could definitely emote. He watched as the human sat up and stretched out his dull claws again, and this time Tony took them in his own, sharper ones. He turned them over, checking them. They were smooth and squishy, not very efficient for catching prey, and lacked any sharp edges at all. 

He spread the human's dull claws out and slid his own claw between the digits, furrowing his brow when he noticed a lack of webbing between them. How could he keep prey from seeping between his claws without it? 

Tony looked up at the blonde human and flapped his fins, a universal sign of happiness despite the confusion he felt towards the human. It was then that he noticed the blonde lacked fins too, as he lowered his head for Tony to get a better and closer view. 

The Mer grabbed hold of the human's head, inspecting the sides of his face only to find that his lack of fins was replaced by strange, wrinkled flesh deposits. He tilted his head in confusion and ran his claw through the human's hair, only to find pleasure radiate off the human. He ignored the sensation and brought his claw down to cup the man's face, bringing him closer to Tony. 

If he could only make contact with the human's lips, he could give him the ability to speak normally, not just sing like a little pup. He was nearly there when suddenly the human jerked away, fear and guilt radiating off him in waves as his chest heaved. 

Tony sighed, mentally shrugging before diving back under. Perhaps the human had thought he was trying to bite him or something. He could always try again later. 

 

 ☆ - ⎈ - ☆ 

 

Tony was restless and tired of the bland walls that this small cove possessed. He had seen every corner, inspected every edge, and was bored of it. He looked up when something appeared above the water, pulling him from his thoughts. 

Tony swam up and poked his head out of the water, finding the sandy blonde human and the red-haired female from yesterday standing before him. The male held a large bucket and had a disgusted look on his face, while the female seemed completely done with him.

Tony tilted his head and chirped, smelling prey coming from the bucket. The female yipped and sang at the male and then grabbed something from the bucket, crouching down to hold it out to Tony. It was then that the Mer realized it was a fish, a small herring to be exact. 

The brunet felt his stomach growl, looking down at it then back up at the female's hands. She then dropped the fish in the water and Tony watched as it swam away. The Mer wasn't about to let it escape though, and dove after it, catching it and bringing it to the surface, where he sunk his fangs into it and shredded it. 

The male seemed to grow more disgusted and the female rolled her eyes, while Tony licked the blood from his claws. He looked back up at them for more, just as the female pulled a small, oddly-shaped shiny rock out of her side. 

She put the shiny rock to one of the flesh deposits on her face and walked off, leaving Tony alone with the male-who-sang-bad. Tony tilted is head when the blonde set the bucket down, picking up another herring and chirping at him. He didn't know just what the human had been trying to communicate but watched as he threw the herring high into the air. 

Tony watched it soar, assuming this was some kind of game the human wanted to play. Anything to get his mind off his boring surroundings, Tony thought, swimming backward and catching the small fish before it hit the water.

He bit into it, finishing the creature as the male grabbed another fish. Joy seemed to radiate off the human, which in turn made Tony happy as well. He had done something well, and the human seemed to appreciate that. 

This continued on for a few minutes, the human tossing fish into the air at higher and higher heights, while Tony positioned himself under the fish perfectly every time. Every once in a while he would even catch one in his mouth, which caused the human to smack his claws together happily.

Eventually, however, the human stopped throwing them into the air and took a seat by the water.

The Mer chirped at the human as he took a seat, holding out a small fish. Tony was wary of the human, but his still-unfull stomach urged him closer. He had nearly reached the fish when the human reached out, causing Tony to instinctively hiss and dive under.

He swam to the bottom of the cove and stayed there, watching as the human stood and dropped the fish in. It darted around in the water, swimming around frantically as it attempted to find a place to hide.

Tony's stomach rumbled again and he launched himself off the ground and attacked the fish, finishing it off and looking up at the surface of the water.

The human was still there, seemingly watching him, but didn't attempt anything further. The Mer deemed it safe enough to poke his head out again, only to find the human had an aura of guilt surrounding him. 

Tony tilted his head and chirped, and the human's aura changed to that of shock and curiosity. He looked at the bucket and grabbed another fish slowly, keeping his eyes on Tony the whole time. 

He picked up a bigger fish- a bass by the looks of it, and tossed it to the Mer. Tony watched it flop in the water for a moment before darting off down under, letting it go for now. He clicked at the human, tilting his head as the human sang and chirped at him, grabbing another fish- this time a small salmon, and held it out. 

The human looked as if he were about to throw it up when another human- the large blonde alpha male from before- came walking in. He seemed to be angry, the emotion radiating off him in waves. 

It seemed to be directed at the smaller male, thought Tony wasn't sure as to why. The larger male was waving his dull claws around frantically and gesturing at both Tony and the fish before he took the fish from the smaller male and looked to Tony.

His gaze softened then, shoulders slumping as the smaller male left the room. He held out the fish with both hands as he took a seat on the side of the cove, watching Tony as he did.

The Mer swam up to him, watching the human carefully as he took the fish in his claws and sunk his teeth into it. After a few moments the salmon stopped wriggling in his grip, but before he could indulge in the meal he noticed that the human's face had morphed into one of complete and utter sadness. 

Had he felt for the fish? If so, why had he offered it to Tony? Perhaps he was saddened by the fact that he wouldn't get to enjoy the fish's yummy meat. Tony could fix that. He dragged his claws down the side of the fish, tearing off a chunk of meat before setting it on the side of the cove.

He chirped hopefully at the human, tilting his head as he watched the human's face twist and scrunch. Tony blinked, bringing his own piece of the fish up to his mouth. He locked eyes with the human and bit into the meat, chewing slowly and deliberately so that perhaps the human would get the idea. 

The human smiled warily, showing off his blunt teeth. Tony tilted his head, looking back down at the fish. Maybe the man couldn't tear into it like Tony could. 

He decided he would fix that, taking the meat and putting it into his own mouth, grinding it up with his fangs and spitting it back out onto the cove wall. It was the thing to do for pups, seeing as how they had barely any fangs at all, so it must have been the thing to do for humans as well. 

Disgust rolled off of the human, his eyes wide as he stared at the pile of mush on the stone. Tony tilted his head and chirped in question, looking between the human and the mush as he bit into his own fish. 

When the human still had yet to move, he raised a claw out of the water and reached for the human. He seemed startled at first but allowed Tony to bring him down close to the water.

Tony brought him closer to the meat and the human pulled away, insistent on the action. 

The Mer finally gave up and released the man, taking another chunk out of the fish in his other hand as he chucked it up to the fact that humans must be herbivores. He finished off the fish and stared at the human before him, the pair simply staring at each other before Tony felt the bass from before brush against his tail. 

The human was forgotten and he dove under the water to catch the bass. 

 

☆ - ⎈ - ☆

 

 Steve had been in the kitchen since that morning, running over Tony's actions in his head. He was sure that Tony wasn't in there, and if that was true, then the merman version of him should have no feelings towards him whatsoever. 

But- why did he try to kiss him, then? Surely he didn't know just what the gesture meant, right? He was clever, that much was evident, but he couldn't possibly know just how much such a thing could mean to the soldier- especially since the relationship between him and the brunet had only recently begun to bud. 

He shook the thoughts from his head, bringing the cup of coffee he had been nursing to his lips. He swallowed the extra-sugary liquid, losing himself in the heat that burned his throat. 

It wasn't until the phone rang that he realized he had begun zoning out. 

Steve pulled the device ( _a STARK™ brand of course_ ) and furrowed his brow at the caller ID: Natasha. Wasn't she in the building? Perhaps they had found something and wanted to tell him immediately, rather than wasting time and energy looking around to find him.

He answered the call and put the phone to his ear, blurting out a "Hello?". 

"Steve?" the voice said on the other line.  

"Natasha, what's up?" the blonde replied, setting down his coffee cup and switching the phone to his other ear. He leaned against the counter and put his free hand in his pocket.

"I think you should come down to the pool and see for yourself."  

Her words put him on edge. Had something happened to Tony? Was he hurt? Had he changed back? Steve's heart skipped a beat at the thought, pushing himself off the counter and walking to the elevator.  

"What happened?" he managed to get out as the doors shut and JARVIS began guiding the elevator to the tower's 'getaway' floor (as Tony deemed it). 

"It's uh..." there was a splash that could be heard over the line, followed by faint chirping. "Well, I just think it's best if you get down here."

The doors opened as Natasha ended the call, only confusing the blond further. He walked out of the elevator and towards the pool, where he heard more splashing. It was then that he saw Natasha leaning against the wall just outside the room the pool was in, her arms crossed. 

She tilted her head inside the large glass doors, where Clint was busy throwing fish into the air and cheering when Tony caught them like some trained dolphin. 

Anger bubbled inside of the soldier's chest. That was still _Tony_ , still their _teammate_ , not Clint's new pet to play around with. He opened the door with a slam and stomped over to the archer, who was about to throw another fish when he saw Steve coming up to him. 

"Oh- Hey Steve, look at-"

"What the hell, Clint?!" Steve nearly shouted, his fury bubbling very close to the surface by this point. "What are you _doing_?!" He looked at the fish in the archer's hands and then at Tony, who seemed confused about the situation.

"How could you take advantage of him like this?" he asked, gesturing to the merman in the pool. "Do you really think that if he were in his right mind, that he'd appreciate you treating him like- like some SeaWorld attraction?!" 

Clint seemed to shrink as if he hadn't thought of the notion before now. "Listen we were just having a bit of fu-" 

Steve held up his hand, his jaws set as the action silenced the shorter man. "I don't care. You have a job to do, and treating Tony like a pet is not it." his voice held authority, his anger seeping out through his steely blue eyes. 

Clint looked to the floor like a teenager who had been caught doing something he'd known he wasn't supposed to do but didn't regret the action. Steve held out his hand and the archer set the fish in it, walking past the man and out of the room.

Steve let out the breath he'd been holding, gripping the fish tighter and only coming back to himself when it wriggled. His shoulders dropped and he looked at Tony, who seemed to have been watching the confrontation curiously. 

He took a seat beside the pool and held out the fish, his heart sinking when Tony bit into the fish like a common animal. He watched Tony pause, tilting his head as his eyes went from the fish to Steve, then back to the fish.

He dragged his claws down the dead animal's side, tearing off a chunk of bloody meat and setting it on the side of the pool.

It made Steve's heart melt at the simple gesture, but it was still pretty disgusting, and his face couldn't help but contort at the sight. When Tony chirped at him and chewed on his own meat very slowly, he made it obvious what he wanted Steve to do (even if he already knew). 

He couldn't help but smile, shaking his head at Tony's antics. It was then that the meat was snatched up in Tony's bright red claws and stuffed into his own mouth. Steve raised an eyebrow in confusion, only for it to turn into disgust when the brunet spat it back out on the stone.

Tony chirped at him, which he was sure was the Merman's way of insisting Steve eat the pile of mush on the side of the pool. The blonde simply stared at the pile of fish guts as Tony finished off his fish, staring at him expectantly. 

It was then that the brunet reached up, catching Steve by surprise and making him flinch. Tony drew back for a moment, before continuing. He brought Steve closer to him, and panic took over as he thought the Merman was going to try to kiss him again. 

He pulled back instinctively, Tony letting him go and floating in the water staring at him. He seemed to silently come to a conclusion about something and dove under the water, leaving Steve alone on the surface. 

"Don't go..." the words slipped out of his mouth without his permission, and as quiet as they were, sounded tattered and broken. 

  

☆ - ⎈ - ☆

**TBC**


	3. Communication Tactics

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ok so I think from this point on chapters are going to be a bit shorter so that they're easier to crank out, and I can update faster.

 

☆ - ⎈ - ☆

 

Steve sat alone by the pool for a long time. For how long, he wasn't sure, but it wasn't like it mattered. No one reported anything new, so the time that he spent there didn't make a difference. 

Plus being near Tony helped him think. He laid on his stomach and watched Tony swim lazily back and forth through the pool, guilt beginning to build up as Tony would seem to become lost in his thoughts and run into the sides of the pool. 

Granted, it was a large pool, but it was built for humans, and the size Tony was now, well, his tail seemed to be about 4 to 5 feet on its own, adding Tony's upper half brought him up to about 7 or 8 feet. 

Not to mention, over the past couple of days the color in the brunet's tail had begun to become muted. It didn't glisten in the light but seemed to instead absorb said light and hide it away. He wondered why that was, furrowing his brow in thought as he watched Tony swim from wall to wall. 

It wasn't until Bruce came running in that he pulled his gaze away from the Merman below him. 

"Steve-" the man seemed panicked, looking between the soldier and the pool. "We have to get Tony out of that water, _now_." the doctor was breathing heavily, sweat beading his brow. 

Steve furrowed his brow further, looking to Tony as he swam around lazily. "Why?" he asked, tilting his head slightly. Bruce was a smart man- the smartest among them (aside from Tony) surely he knew that being out of the water would kill Tony, right?

"The chlorine. It's bad for him. Very, VERY bad for him." Bruce said, looking at the water's surface. "That kind of water can kill fish, especially ones that are meant to swim in seawater, which I can safely assume is the category that Tony falls under." 

Steve tensed, looking at the pool. Was that the reason the Merman's scales had looked so dull? Had they been unintentionally killing Tony, and didn't even know it!? The blonde bent down and waved his hand around in the water, gaining the brunet's attention. 

Tony swam to the surface and poked his head above water, chirping at the pair happily. 

Steve looked to Bruce, who was tapping away on the tablet he'd brought with him. "I asked Clint to run a cool bath in Tony's private bathroom- the tub in there is big enough to fit the other guy, so it should be fine for him while we try to figure out a more permanent solution," Bruce said, looking up and making contact with the soldier. "All you have to do...is get Tony there," he said.

The blonde swallowed thickly, looking back to the brunet in question, who was seemingly confused by the situation before him. No doubt he sensed the overwhelming panic coming from both men and was bewildered by it. 

"Tony, I need you to listen to me." Steve said, looking at the brunet worriedly.

 

☆ - ⎈ - ☆

 

Tony tilted his head as the blonde human chirped frantically at him. his eyebrows knit together in confusion, trying to get a click or two in between the human's unintelligible sounds.  

The human then reached out and grabbed his arm, an action that before, would have frightened the Mer out of his scales, but by this point was only unnerving. He clicked at the blonde and tilted his head, trying to understand just what was going on.

The human beside him seemed worried, along with the other presence that the human shared its mind with. Tony allowed the human to pull him up, his tail almost breaking the surface before the Mer came to his senses. 

They were trying to _suffocate_ him! Tony's eyes grew wide,

Tony's eyes grew wide and he began to thrash in the blonde's grip, gritting his teeth and growling at the human. He didn't want to hurt him, up to this point he had been nice to Tony, but if he was trying to suffocate him- there would be bloodshed. 

The Mer felt himself be released, falling to the smooth stone by the cove, only his caudal fin still beneath the water. The brunet could feel his gills beginning to struggle as he lay on the stone, eyes wide as he looked at the blonde human in fear. 

How could the human do this to him? Had he done something wrong? What had he done to deserve the worst fate a Mer could suffer? 

He wasn't given long to think on this before he was picked up by the human, more chirps coming from him. Tony was growing weaker by the moment, but that wouldn't stop him from attempting to get free.

At least if he was still near the water, he had a chance of getting back in. From what he saw as the human began taking him away from the strange cove, the man was trying to get him as far away as possible from the only thing that could keep him alive. 

Tony continued to thrash as the human carried him down a corridor, and dug his claws into the human's arms as he growled, taking delight in the pain that radiated from the blonde man. His strength continued to leave him, however, and he found his vision begin to blur around the edges. 

His claws loosened themselves from the human's flesh, falling limp at Tony's sides as he struggled to breathe.

He glanced up at the human one more time, growling out a half-hearted threat before blacking out completely. 

 

☆ - ⎈ - ☆

 

 When Tony woke up, he was in a small cove- smaller than the previous- so small in fact, he couldn't move without risk of his gills hanging out. Tony had heard of this before- what was it called? Ballin? Bastion? Ba...Bas- He knew he was close, but couldn't put his claw on it. 

It was then that he thought about just how he had come to reside in this cramped thing, chirping as he looked around. He seemed to be in a small cave, with smooth walls and sharp edges. There were strange things around the cave, including a shiny white bowl with more water in it. 

Tony tilted his head at the object, chirping at it and touching it gingerly. When it didn't do anything, the Mer deemed it boring and ignored it.

He chirped again, hoping to gain the attention of a human-

_The humans._

He remembered now. The humans had taken him from his larger cove. The alpha male had taken him from the water, but why had he put him here? What had been wrong with his previous spot?

He pushed the thought aside as a human entered the room. 

This human was new- it had a strange smell to it, one of metal and sky. It was male from what he could tell and had dark brown skin. The human's eyes widened at the sight of Tony, and the Mer chucked it up to him being amazed by his beauty. 

The brunet puffed out his chest and fanned out his fins, giving the dark human a better, more astonishing view as the human began to chirp at him. Tony blinked in confusion back. Perhaps he wasn't admiring Tony's beauty after all. Shame.

Shame.

The human leaned against another bright white bowl, chirping away at him. He seemed frustrated, and apparently unleashing his frustrations for Tony to hear. Tony tilted his head, gesturing to human closer as he had seen the redheaded female do before.

This caught the male's attention, and he rolled his eyes before coming closer to the Mer.

Tony smiled a fanged, toothy smile to show he meant no harm and gestured for the human to come even closer. Perhaps this one would allow him to make contact-

The brunet's actions were suddenly stopped by the blonde alpha male charging into the room, separating the two. Tony clicked at him frustratedly, punctuating it with a snuff. The alpha seemed to ignore him, choosing instead to chirp at the other human.

The dark-skinned human chirped back, looking at Tony before furrowing his brow.  He chirped at the Mer, to which Tony tilted his head. He then leaned back down and got close to said Mer, despite the alpha's obvious angry chirps.

Tony's fins fanned out in happiness, clicking as he grabbed the sides of the human's face. He brought the dark-skinned human to his lips and made contact, a spark going between them. 

The Human's eyes went wide and he pulled back, shaking his head as he touched his lips with his dull claws. "Wha..." the human said, Tony smiling at the fact he could understand him now. 

"It worked!" Tony chirped happily, puffing out his chest in pride. The human's eyes widened further, staring at Tony confusedly.

"Did you just speak?" he asked slowly, to which Tony smiled.

"Took you long enough. You humans are so adamant against lip contact- I tried with your alpha but he refused to let me communicate with him." Tony tried to explain, clicking excitedly.

"Alpha? You mean him?" the huamn asked, pointing behind him at the blonde human.

Tony nodded, as if it were obvious.

"Wait, can you understand him?" The blonde alpha said, his voice sounding warm and familiar to Tony for some reason.

"Y-yea..." the dark one replied, Tony, looking between the pair happily.

"Why can't I? What- Tony?" The blonde human looked to him with hope in his eyes.

"That's me! How'd you know that?" he asked, tilting his head. 

"I...all I hear is chirping. How... Does he understand me?" the blonde looked over at the dark-skinned human, who swallowed thickly and nodded. 

Tony blinked, tilting his head up at the blonde. "If you'd only let me make contact, you could understand me as well, prideful beast." he clicked frustratedly, the dark one snorting a laugh.

Tony grinned, liking the human even more. Anyone who laughed at Tony's quips was good in his book.

"H-he-" the human said, regaining his composure as he looked at the alpha. "He said that if you'd only allowed him to make contact, then you could understand him too," he said, smile still on his face.

"Did he try to kiss you....and you turned him away?" the human asked, a sly smile on his face. "I'm surprised, considering how head over heels for him you are." 

A kiss? Was that what the humans called lip contact? A weird name for a form of communication, but he could roll with it. Tony watched the humans converse, their words ending with the alpha bending down and getting close to Tony. 

"Tony...?" he asked hesitantly, unable to meet the Mer's eyes.

"I need you to kiss me." he said bluntly.

Tony blinked, staring at the human.

Then he turned his nose up at him.

 

☆ - ⎈ - ☆

  TBC...


	4. Stubbornness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony is being stubborn.

 

☆ - ⎈ - ☆

 

Steve blinked at the merman's action, watching him turn his nose up and pout.

"Tony...?" he said, furrowing his brow. "Come on, don't be difficult..." he said, getting a couple of frustrated clicks from the creature. The blonde sighed, looking to Rhodey for a translation.

When the colonel delivered none, he sighed again, running his hands through his hair frustratedly. "Even when he doesn't remember me he has to be like this..." he muttered, shaking his head. 

The soldier stood, letting out a breath. "I'd better go check on the pool. Clint and Bruce have been cleaning it and filling it up with salt water for the past hour, so i'd better see if they're finished yet," he said resignedly, glancing at Tony once more.

The Mer refused to look at him, so he shook his head and walked out.

The blonde sighed and ran a hand through his hair as he walked out of the bathroom, the quiet sound of splashing accompanied by Tony's chirps echoing down the hall. He attempted to get the merman out of his head, biting his bottom lip as he walked into the pool room. 

The archer and the scientist were sitting on the edge of the pool, the former swinging his feet and watching as the latter kept an eye on the purification system that was running.

Bruce had told him it would be easier to filter out all of the chlorine from the water and replace it with salt than it would be to empty it all and completely switch them, so Steve had left him to it. 

The soldier walked in and cleared his throat over the thrum of the machine, getting the attention of the pair. "How much longer?" he asked, wringing his hands as he glanced over his shoulder.

Bruce looked down at his tablet and mumbled to himself, looking back up at the blonde after a moment. "Shouldn't be too long. Twenty minutes or so." 

Steve nodded, taking a seat beside Clint as he fumbled with an arrow head. 

"Is it the best idea to be messing with electronics this close to water?" Steve asked, pulling off his socks and shoes and sticking his feet in the water. The water was cool, but not so much that it wasn't pleasant. 

Clint shrugged, still fumbling with the device. "I like to live on the edge," he said off-handedly, grinning widely when something clicked. He put a small cover back on the arrow head and held it up, puffing his chest out confidently.

"One down.....79 more to go..." the sandy blonde sighed, laying down on the floor. "Ugh...Tony would have all of them done in an hour. At this rate, it'll take me all night to upgrade them..." he whined, setting the arrow beside him.

"Speaking of Tony, has Natasha reported anything new?" Steve asked, furrowing his brow. 

The archer shook his head, the arrow forgotten. "Nah- Her and Thor were still searching for Attuma last time we talked, and I think Thor was gonna look into getting some of Asgard's sorcerers down here to see if they can do anything," he replied, his head tilted.

"I can give Strange a call, see if he could do anything," Bruce said, not looking up from his tablet. "Though, if he does manage to turn Tony back, we'd never hear the end of it. You know how Tony feels about him." 

Steve sighed, shaking his head. Tony hated Strange, why, he had no clue, only that it went back to before the man had become the Sorcerer Supreme. He hadn't bothered to ask, but the entire team knew of his hatred for him. 

"last resort," Steve said, staring at the water before him. "If nothing else works, _then_ we'll call Stephen. I' rather have Tony back and angry with us than stuck as a fish forever and not know who we are."

The men nodded in agreement.

"It's done." Bruce said after a moment, Steve glancing up and nodding. "Alright- I'll go get him." he said, pulling his feet from the water and standing up.

 

☆ - ⎈ - ☆

 

When Rhodey first came in and been told of Tony's current situation, he hadn't known what he'd been expecting, but it certainly wasn't what he got. When he was kissed by the man it reminded him of their days in college when Tony had so often climbed into his bed after a night of drinking. 

Nothing had ever happened, the brunet had always simply cuddled the larger or whispered sweet nothings that he wouldn't remember in the morning. It reminded him of when they were young, and Tony would peck him on the cheek affectionately, just to get a rise out of him- it was an albeit _strange_ relationship- a platonic, yet, loving one.

They were more than friends- more than brothers- they could be completely open with one another.

Rhodey sat beside the tub now, watching Steve leave before turning his attention to the man (Merman?) in question. It was Tony, that much was evident, but there was no weight under his eyes. 

Nothing that told of the pain he'd endured throughout his life, from his abusive childhood to the anxiety he suffered. He was almost like a clean slate when it came to trouble, and Rhodey found it almost refreshing. He hadn't seen his best friend this carefree in so long, and it was simply because he didn't remember anything.

Tony must have noticed him staring, cause the merman clicked at him. 

"Wha?" the colonel asked, coming out of his thoughts.

"I _said_ , Why is your alpha angry?" he asked, the terminology still throwing him for a loop. "He refused to 'kiss' me first, so I simply returned the favor." he reasoned, tail shifting in the water.

A grin ghosted over Rhodey's features, shaking his head at the naivety. "Well, I think it's just cause he...He's missing someone. He's angry with himself, most likely, and just wants to understand you." he tried to explain, the Mer nodding in reply.

"You humans are so strange," Tony muttered.

Rhodey nodded, the pair sitting in comfortable silence until Steve came back in. 

"The pool's ready. We should move him back." the blonde said, looking at Tony, who was currently messing with the webbing between his claws. 

Rhodey nodded, looking at him as well. "Hey, Tony? Do you want to go back to the pool now?" he asked slowly, Tony looking up at him confused.

"You mean that strange cove? Is that what you humans call it? A pool?" he asked, tilting his head in question.

"Yes- Do you want to go back now? Cause if you do, then Ste- Uhm, the alpha's going to have to pick you up and carry you there, alright?" Rhodey spoke as if he were talking to a child, and he could tell Tony didn't appreciate it.

"I'm not a pup. Don't take that tone with me." Tony replied, looking to the blonde. "And fine, but only if he's gentle. Last time he scraped my scales all along the rocks. It really hurt." he muttered the last bit, grumbling to himself as Rhodey gave Steve the OK to pick the merman up.

 

☆ - ⎈ - ☆

 

Tony grumbled in the human's arms as he carried him throughout the human's dry cave. Since he wasn't thrashing, Tony could actually see his surroundings and was interested in what he saw.

There were small inlets in the cave that, inside, held strange objects. One, in particular, held a large shiny box, as well as a smaller shiny box with glowing symbols on it. In another were strange white cloths hanging from wooden sticks, and in another, larger cave there was a large raised square platform with colorful rings surrounding it.

It was easy to say the Mer was interested, tilting his head to get a better view of the small caves they passed. He heard the dark-skinned human chuckle behind him, keeping pace with the blonde as he looked at Tony.

"He may not remember a damn thing, but he sure as hell retained his curiosity," he said, confusing the Mer. Just what had he forgotten? Had there been something important that he had been meant to remember and he hadn't?

The human's words unnerved him.

Tony mulled it over in his mind, trying to think of just what the human was talking about when the blonde came to a stop. Tony looked up at the human, who was looking at the cove before them. 

The Mer perked up, clicking happily at the sight of water. He wriggled in the man's arms, and it seemed to shake him of his stupor. "Oh uh- here, Tony," he said, kneeling down next to the water and setting him in.

Something about the water was different- before, it had felt clouded and made his scales itch. Now, he felt better than he had in a long time. He breathed the water in deeply, letting it run through his gills and letting out a pleasantly surprised series of chirps. 

Tony darted through the water, feeling stronger, faster- more energetic than before. He poked his head out of the water, head fins fanned out in joy. He chirped thanks, which the dark human translated.

That reminded Tony...

"Dark one-" Tony said, gaining the human's attention. "Get that one," he said, gesturing to the sandy blonde with a strange stick in his hand. "I am going to 'kiss' him," he said. He would allow these creatures to understand him- all except the alpha. 

_That would show him._

The dark-skinned human let out a snort, trying to cover his laughter with his dull claw. "I uh- I don't think he'd appreciate that, Tones," he said in reply, causing the Mar to furrow his brow.

"Do it anyway. I want to seek revenge upon the alpha, and this is how I plan to do it," he said, puffing out his chest and crossing his arms.

The human sighed, looking at the sandy blonde, who was staring at the pair in disbelief. "Hold on," he said, gesturing with the weird stick between the pair. "How the hell can you understand him?" he asked.

"Bend down and Tony'll show ya." 

The man narrowed his eyes and looked at the Mer, but bent down willingly. "I swear, if he tries to drown m-" Tony pulled the human's face close and made contact, the same electricity sparking between their lips as before. 

The Mer grinned as the sandy blonde sputtered, scooching backward on the rocks. "What the hell!?!" he asked, wiping his mouth on his arm.

"Now that one," Tony said, pointing at the human with glass circles covering his eyes.

The sandy blonde's eyes went wide, his mouth hanging open as he stared at Tony. "So that's how..." he muttered, clutching the stick tightly as he swallowed. 

" _That one_." the brunet insisted, clicking at the pair that could understand him while the other human simply got closer.

"If i'm inferring correctly, Tony wants to kiss me, which will allow me to understand him- and assumably him, me?" the human asked, pushing the glass up his nose.

"Yes, but he can already understand you. He could as soon as we kissed I think." the dark one said, looking to Tony for confirmation. 

He gave it in the form of a sharp nod, turning his attention back to the human at hand. Said human let out a breath and gave him a tired smile, one that seemed familiar for some reason, and took off the glass that covered his eyes. 

Tony took it as a welcome to 'kiss' him, grasping the human's cheeks and making contact.

Same spark, same results. Tony clicked at him as he put the object back on his face, grinning at the trio. He then looked to the alpha and stuck his tongue out stubbornly. "Stupid alpha," he said mockingly, confusing the pair that hadn't heard it before.

The dark one gave them a shake of his head and a shrug, then looked back at the Mer. "My name's Rhodey, by the way. Not 'Dark One'." he said with a smile, to which Tony nodded. "Rhodey." he mimicked. The name felt familiar on his tongue. He liked it.

"And uh- I'm Clint...?" the sandy blonde said, waving at him with the weird stick.

"Bruce." the one with glass on his face said. 

Tony nodded at each of them, running over their names. "Rhodey." he said, pointing at the human with dark skin. "Clint." The sandy blonde. "Bruce." The glass-faced one.

"That's correct, Tony."

The Mer beamed. 

☆ - ⎈ - ☆

 

TBC...

 


	5. Forgiveness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve decides to man up and finally talk to Tony.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> MERRY CRISIS!
> 
> Sorry for not updating in a while guys, I just didn't know where I wanted to take this fic, and if I'm honest, I'm still not sure. But here anyway, I hope you like it. 
> 
> Should I continue?

 

☆ - ⎈ - ☆

 

Steve watched the group's interaction, his eyes wide as Tony cupped both Clint and Bruce's faces, then proceeded to kiss them. He paused, body tense as Bruce's words ran through his mind. "That-" He stammered, looked the merman in the eyes. "That's why he tried to kiss me..." he muttered to himself, leaning against the wall and sliding down till his bottom hit the tile floor. 

"How could I be so stupid..." he muttered, looking up at the sound of chirping. He glanced at the finned billionaire, whose head was tilted, his ear fins fanned out. He had a smug look on his face (  _of course he did, no matter what form he was in, it was still **Tony**_ ) and was giving him a sharp-toothed smile. 

"Yea, I get it..." he muttered, looking away from the fish man. "This is your way of getting back at me, huh? Leaving me in the dark?" 

Tony's brow furrowed, looking up confusedly. He chirped, tilting his head the other way and looking at the people around him.

"It's uh- just a figure of speech. He means you're not going to let him understand you like everyone else." Bruce provided, glancing at Steve before looking back at Tony.

Tony's expression lightened and he gave a sharp nod, smugness radiating from him. 

The blonde sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, standing up and looking at the merman before walking out.

The rest of the men shared glances, Bruce standing up and walking out after him. He paused at the door, looking back at those still in the room. "I'll...talk to him," he said, taking off after the super soldier.

Steve walked down the hallway with his hands in his pockets, going to the kitchen and opening the fridge. He stared blankly at its contents, not really hungry in any way, but simply looking for something to distract himself from Tony. 

He heard footsteps behind him and looked to find Bruce standing in the doorway, leaning on the frame. "Hey," he said quietly, gesturing to the table. "Why don't we talk?" he asked. 

 

☆ - ⎈ - ☆

 

Steve sat across from the scientist at the table, leaning his cheek on his arm and feeling very much like he'd been sent to the metaphorical principal's office. He stared at the grain of the wood that made up the table, staying quiet until Bruce cleared his throat. 

"Steve?" he questioned, ducking his head to try and meet the soldier's eyes. The blonde glanced up eventually, giving him a look of hopelessness. "What?" he muttered.

Bruce pushed his glasses up the rim of his nose and bit his lip, a habit he'd done since the day they met. "Is there something else that's going on here?" he asked. Leave it to Bruce to get right to the root of things. "Is there something between you and Tony that happened? Is that why you're so...so..."

"Desperate?" Steve finished for him, raising an eyebrow. 

"That's one way to put it, yes." Bruce replied.

Steve rolled his shoulders in a shrug, leaning back in the chair. "I don't know. I thought there was, ya know, before all this. I wanted there to be something there, I wanted it so bad, I just don't know if..." he trailed off, not meeting the brunet's eyes.

"You didn't know if Tony would reciprocate?" 

Steve nodded.

Bruce let out a breath, taking off his glasses and wiping them down with his shirt. "Listen, Steve, if you want there to be something between you and Tony, then you have to tell him how you feel." 

"He doesn't even remember me."

Bruce paused his action and looked at the soldier with a deadpanned expression. 

"Listen, it may not be my place to say, but I think you should at least try. You have no idea just how much the man looks up to you. He grew up with stories about how great you are, and I wouldn't be surprised if he did have a crush on you." Bruce said, putting his glasses back on. "Lord knows he talks about you often enough."

The words made Steve's cheek tinge pink- the thought that Tony talked about him, probably rambled about him- it made his chest tighten.

"And, until we figure out how to fix him, I think you should try harder to get to know _this_ Tony. You may grow to like him." 

Steve nodded, watching Bruce stand and following suit. "I will," he said, nodding his head. "Thanks, Bruce."

The brunet smiled and gave a sharp nod, taking his leave from the kitchen.

 

☆ - ⎈ - ☆

 

Tony had been lazily floating in the newly-deemed 'pool', batting at one of the assortment of colorful rings the small blonde man- _Clint_ , his brain supplied, had tossed into the water. He made it swish around his arm in the water, following the action with more rings until his arm was covered in colorful, swirling rings. That is until he heard tapping from above.

Tony looked up to find ~~the alpha~~   _the blonde human_ , standing above the water and watching him. He seemed determined, going off the way his face was set, yet still uncertain about said determination.

The Mer took pity on him and swam to the surface, poking his head out of the water to stare at the man. He chirped at him, only noticing now that the human had a bucket under his arm. He sniffed the air, coming to the conclusion that prey was nestled inside. He also noticed that the man's strange coverings were shorter and that which covered his 'legs' was colorful.

Still, if this human wanted him to perform like the smaller blonde did, he had another thing coming. 

Tony was about to voice his opinion with a well-placed splash to the man's face when the blonde took a seat next to the pool and set the bucket beside him. He began taking off the coverings on his stubby claws and set them beside him, then pulled off the covering on his chest. 

The brunette tilted his head in confusion- was this normal for humans to remove their coverings like this? Perhaps the human was simply overheating. He rolled his eyes at the human's actions, his fins pressed tightly against his head to show that he was still angry with the blonde.

The man didn't seem to take notice as he set his claws into the water and brought the bucket closer to him. "Tony?" he asked, trying to get the Mer's attention. While the brunette may have been tempted to keep his nose turned up at the human, he couldn't deny that he was growing hungry.

Slowly, he swam closer to the human, floating about a foot away from him. suspended in the water, he took in the blonde's form. It was easy to tell why he was an alpha- he obviously had great strength, and his physical stature was unlike Tony had ever seen before. In fact, when compared to Tony himself, he made him look like a Beta by comparison alone.

The human gave him a small smile, seeming to count Tony's coming forward as a victory. It made the Mer want to roll his eyes, but he had the feeling that if he did, the fish would be put further out of his reach.

The blonde reached into the bucket and pulled out a large fish, a mackerel by the looks of it, and held it out to Tony. Apprehensive of the gesture, the Mer narrowed his eyes at the fish and slowly swam forward. He paused, just out of the human's reach, his body nearly frozen in place. 

Then, with the speed of a sailfish, he darted forward and snatched the fish out of the human's grasp, diving below the surface to tear into the prey. 

After a few moments, he resurfaced, finding the human with another fish waiting in his stubby claws. Slightly less wary this time, Tony swam closer, and slowly reached for the creature. He expected the man to grab his wrist, but he found that he made no attempt to move- only let him take the fish from his claws. 

This time, the brunette didn't dive down, simply sank his fangs into the fish right there. 

Almost immediately, disappointment and slight sadness radiated off the human, causing the Mer to pause. He looked up, his fangs bloodied but expression confused. Had the human wanted this to himself? 

Tony looked down at the fish and tore it in half, offering up one half to the human.

The blonde's eyes widened, seemingly being taken back by the gesture. "Uhh- I, uh-" he stammered, his hands up in a defenseless manner. "N-no thanks..." he said, face contorted in disgust. 

The Mer blinked and then shrugged, biting into the fish and chomping on it. He chirped non-committedly at him once he finished, to which the human sighed. "You know I can't understand you, so I don't know why you still try to communicate," he said.

Tony furrowed his brow- he hadn't been trying to communicate, simply emote. Had the human really been that upset over his refusal?

He would have thought more about it but suddenly the human slid the bucket away from his body and pushed himself off the edge of the pool, slipping into the water.

Tony panicked for a moment as he watched the blonde sink before darting forward and wrapping his arms around the human. He pulled him back to the surface to find that the human was fine, a confused expression on his face. "What- what's wrong?" he asked, his blonde hair stuck to his forehead. 

The Mer tilted his head in confusion, swimming around the man's body and stopping once he was in front of him again. He chirped nervously, fins twitching against his head.

"Hold on..." the man said, his legs and arms moving in the water, seemingly keeping him afloat, "Did you think I was in trouble?" he asked, a small smile on his face. 

Tony snuffed at him and held his fins flat against his head, avoiding the human's eyes. So what if he did? He was sure the other humans would have been angry with him had he let the human sink to the bottom of the pool.

The blonde smiled genuinely at him, swimming a bit closer.

Tony allowed him to, tilting his head at the action.

He watched as the blonde lifted one hand from the water and cupped Tony's face, his skin warm against the Mer's face. Tony almost purred at the touch, somehow inviting and familiar, yet he was sure the human had never done this before. 

"I miss you, Tony," he said, coming even closer.

Tony instinctively began to wrap his tail around one of the human's legs as he got closer, the contrasting warm that radiated from him making Tony want to pull him closer. Once the human was practically chest to chest with him, he raised his other arm out of the water and cupped the other side of his face, his legs completely entrapped by Tony's tail.

"I just want you back," he said slowly, bringing the Mer closer and placing his lips on Tony's.

This 'kiss' was different- the spark he felt was warmer, brighter- it seemed to fill Tony's entire soul with light and made him want to _sing_ \- Tony opened his eyes, bright blue irises glowing. 

The human opened his own, being taken back by the sight. "Y-your _eyes_ -" he stammered, enraptured by the glow.

Tony blinked, staring at the blonde. How could this be? This was a human- it couldn't possibly mean what he knew, deep down, that kind of reaction _must_ mean. He was confused, how could the gods do this to him? Something as forbidden as this, how would he possibly cope?

"No..." he whispered, his brows furrowed. "You can't be my mate..." he said nearly silently, the human's eyes widening at the words.

The human said nothing, but Tony wouldn't have known if he spoke because he uncurled himself from the man and dove under the water before he could open his mouth. Tony curled up on the bottom of the pool, his eyes wide as he stared into the water.

How could this happen to him? 

 

☆ - ⎈ - ☆

 

TBC... 


	6. Scuba Diving

 

☆ - ⎈ - ☆

 

_How could this happen to him?_

 

_What had he done to deserve this?_

 

 _How could the Gods decide that a_ **human** _was his mate?!_

 

_At least he was an alpha..._

 

Tony lay curled up at the bottom of the pool, his tail twitching as he stared unseeingly ahead. The feeling of the blonde human's lips on his replayed in his mind, making his chest feel tight and warm once more. He tried to shake off the feeling but found himself taking comfort in it instead. 

 

The Mer chirped at the thought of something as unrealistic as having a human for a mate but assumed it was just that the Gods simply hated him. He sighed, turning over so that his back lay flat on the ground of the pool. He stared up through the water, finding the human still in the water. He seemed to have this weird plastic thing on his face now, and was looking at him from afar. 

 

Tony tilted his head at it, confusion written in his features. Suddenly, the blonde began to swim downwards, towards him, and Tony tensed. He pressed himself against the ground, and froze, hoping the human may not see him against the sand.

 

Unfortunately, _(unfortunate in this case and this case ALONE, mind you)_ the Gods had blessed him with a vibrant a strikingly bright red and gold tail, making him not only shimmer in the light but be completely useless camouflage. 

 

Tony's eyes shot open when he felt the human's claws on his shoulder, the touch sending sparks through his body and making his head fins puff out. Had he the ability to blush, he would be doing so, but he simply yanked his shoulder away instead. he chirped at the human grumpily, crossing his arms. 

 

"Stupid humans. Stupid gods..." he muttered, growling as his tail twitched.

 

The human tilted his head and began to swim back up, confusing Tony. Why had he come down there, only to go back up to the surface? Had he just come down in an attempt to get him to follow? 

 

Well, he wouldn't. 

 

He watched the human reach the surface and stay there for a moment, before swimming back down.

 

Tony tilted his head in confusion. Why was he back? 

 

The blonde floated before him, watching him carefully. "What?" Tony asked, raising a brow and crossing his arms once more. "I get it, I'm gorgeous, you can stop staring, Spangles." 

 

Wait...where had that come from? Who was Spangles? Tony paused, furrowing his brow in confusion and looking down at his claws. _Seriously_ , where had that just come from? He glanced at the blonde, who seemed to be equally shocked. His mouth was open and he actually began to choke, the Mer jumping into action and grabbing onto him, shooting through the water and towards the surface. 

 

They broke the surface and the blonde sputtered and coughed, hacking up a lung as he spewed up water. Tony made a face at the action but stayed quiet as the human attempted to calm down. 

 

"You...I...Spang..." the alpha seemed to be just as confused as Tony, his eyes blown wide and breathing heavily. "You called me Spangles. Tony, you-- do you remember me? Do you remember everything?! Is this just some sick game to you!?" the human seemed to be getting angry, his face turning slightly pink. 

 

Tony took this as a sign to get away, swimming back quickly to avoid any stubby fists. He waded in the water and tilted his head in confusion. Just what was this guy going on about? "I-I don't understand," he said simply hen the human had stopped his rant momentarily for him to reply.

 

"Then what was that?!" the blonde asked, throwing up his claws. 

 

Tony furrowed his brow, glancing down at where they had just been. "I don't know. Those words were not my own," he said slowly, trying to think things through. "Who is Spangles?" he asked, suddenly remembering his inner question. "Is that you?" 

 

The blonde seemed to deflate at that, his shoulders slumping. "Its...no one." the human settled on, running a stubby claw through his hair. He glanced up at Tony, chewing on his lip. "Look, I'm sorry I lost my temper. I just thought..." he trailed off, shaking his head. "Doesn't matter. Look, the important thing here is...well I should be thanking you...you saved me, so thanks," he said awkwardly.

 

Tony nodded once. "You're welcome..." he said, coming closer. 

 

"Wait, wait, you _do_ know my name, don't you?" the human asked, tilting his head. 

 

Tony shook his own. "No. But I know you are the alpha of the human pod that lives here," he said.

 

The blonde human laughed, tilting his head back. The sound was music to Tony's ears, making his body feel jittery and excited. He smiled softly at the sound, watching the human laugh. The blonde calmed down after a moment and smiled, shaking his head slowly. 

 

"My name's Steve. Steve Rogers." the human, _Steve_ , said finally. The blonde smiled and held out his stubby claws to him. 

 

Tony looked down at it, then back up at Steve. "I am Antonio. But I go by Tony. Not sure how your pod knew that." he said, ignoring the outstretched claw. 

 

Steve rolled his eyes warmly and retracted it, continuing to swim. "Well, Tony, do you mind telling me just what you meant by 'mate'?" he asked bluntly. To be fair, the human was blushing brightly from the tips of his ears to the edge of his nose, but still, he was very blunt about it.

 

"I- uh- Wha- I-" Tony stammered, eyes wide. It was unlike him to be caught off guard, but somehow this human managed it. 

 

"I don't have to tell you!" he settled on, diving back under the water.

 

Before he could get too far, however, he felt his tail be grabbed by the human. Tony froze, his muscles locking up and fear taking over his system. He couldn't move, breathing shallowly under the water as he was pulled back. The human seemed to notice that the Mer wasn't moving and released him. 

 

Tony turned towards him and hissed, his eyes angry. "What did I do to deserve you paralyzing me?!" he asked curtly, huffing. 

 

Steve blinked, blushing brightly and rubbing the back of his neck. "I- Uh, sorry, that wasn't my intention, I just didn't want you swimming away," he said honestly. "Forget I said anything, i'm sorry, please don't leave." he continued, his bright blue eyes locking onto Tony's.

 

Tony sighed. "You're insufferable," he said, staying at the surface with the human.

 

☆ - ⎈ - ☆

 

TBC?

_Honestly, I don't know where I wanna take this, so until I figure it out, IDK if there will be another part..._

 

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! Hope you enjoyed if you did please leave a kudos or comment below!


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